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14598 messages, Last post on Dec 09, 2009 at 3:08 AM
You are in the Subaru Crew Forum. Your Host is kcram
Your Community Leaders are ateixeira and rsholland.
This is the place for Crew members to kick back, relax, and talk about...whatever!
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For July 2008 Subaru (USA) had a 4.5 % increase in sales, behind Damer AG (12.5%) but ahead of American Honda (3.2%).  Everyone else (save whoever is in "other), lost ground. 
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Replying to: kurtamaxxxguy (Aug 03, 2008 6:39 pm)
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Replying to: ateixeira (Aug 04, 2008 5:44 am)
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Replying to: volkov (Aug 04, 2008 2:42 pm) The Limited is in very short supply, one buyer had to order one and may have to wait 10-12 weeks! Yikes! They thought the Premium model was going to be the volume model, but that no longer has the AWP standard, so that surely pushed some people up towards the Limited. Now that the AWP is an option, let's see if more people get Premiums.
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Replying to: ateixeira (Aug 06, 2008 5:33 am) I'll say! They neglected to offer the XT with a MT Sorry I couldn't resist  -Frank
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Replying to: p0926 (Aug 06, 2008 11:53 am) |
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For 2006 reliability, Subaru apparently came in below the industry Average - not bu much, but below average.  By comparison, VW was worse. LandRover was much worse (and bottom rated - problems in every vehicle).  Toyota's Rav4 led the CUV segment.
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Replying to: kurtamaxxxguy (Aug 07, 2008 3:13 pm)  I find Consumer Reports reliability scores far more useful. -Frank
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Replying to: p0926 (Aug 07, 2008 3:25 pm) |
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Got to drive 4 different AWD sport sedans on Summit Point Raceway. Needless to say, this was a hoot. First we drove the A4 on a modified loop that included the Carousel. First I went as a passenger, for about 8-10 laps, then I drove and my brother was my passenger (Bob was in another car). We followed a lead car in formation, 5 cars in a row (no passing, of course), but they went pretty quick and it was quite a bit of fun. You'd learn the racing line for the first couple of laps, then keep refining the line as we got progressively quicker. We sampled the A4 in Comfort mode (Lexus like) and then in Dynamic mode (BMW like). They said it was chameleon-like, but honestly the Dynamic mode was better in every way. Comfort had some throttle lag and I can't imagine when that would be desireable. Later we repeated the same drive, but in a Q7. Bob got to drive an A3. While the A3 is probably the sportier car for that type of drive, I figured the Q7 would be closer to the limit, plus the other cars were all booked up. There was an A6, and A8, and I think one TT. Same type of drive - in formation, 5 in a row, no passing. The Q7 felt big, of course, and visibility is poor for that type of driving. Another problem was the stability control kept interfering, in fact it cut off the throttle completely on the Carousel (which is a banked turn). Later we figured out than with the Transmission in Sport mode, it wouldn't do that. I was surprised because we did have the suspension in the sportiest mode - Dynamic, and I still experienced that problem. Don't ask my why the Transmission mode it what affects the level of intrusiveness of the ESP, but it did. I drove the Q7 first, then my brother drove, again another 8-10 laps or so each. He drove with the Trans in Sport so he got to have more fun, in fact I was pretty darn proud of how much he learned and improved throughout the day. At first he was hesitant and jerky, but by the end of the day he was smooth and quick, keeping up with the sportier cars in that SUV without any drama.  In between those two drives, we got to run a comparo. Audi had the A4 V6 Quattro. They brought along a BMW 328xi, a Benz 300 4Matic, and a Lexus IS 250 AWD. Audi said they chose those because those models have AWD, and in the case of the Bimmer the price was comparable. If you ask me, they should have compared an A4 with the 2.0FSI engine, not the upscale V6, which is expected to have a higher price than any of those competitors. Any how, we got to take each on one very short "hot lap". It was on a small part of the track, but it felt more like an autocross run than a race circuit. You went left, right, left, right, then a slalom and a brake test, and you were done. We drove the A4 first, which felt quickest (of course) and handled very well for its size and mass. It ain't the light compact it used to be. Then came the Benz, which was slower and had a lot more lean. It also understeered a lot. It was actually the best in the brake test, though, with straight and smooth stops. Next up was Lexus, the slowest by far, with only 204 hp from a small V6. It also had tons of body roll, so it would not surprise me if they raise or soften their AWD model compared to the base, which I've driven before and felt a little better. I will say it has the softest leather and the most comfortable seats, plus the most ergonomic interior. It's a softy, but a very plush one. Finally we drove the BMW. The funny thing was it handled as well, if not better than, the Audi A4. The Audi was quicker, but we were comparing Audi's upgrade engine to BMW's base engine. It was a close call, but I thought BMW won on handling, Audi on acceleration. The BMW's interior was the worst of the 4 cars by a wide margin, cold and stark. So the funny thing is we (my brother and I) felt like each had something unique to offer. I'd take the Audi's engine, the Lexus' seats and dash, the BMW's suspension, and the Benz' brakes. Overall, though, the BMW and Audi were just about a match for each other, so for me it might even come down to price. In summary a great event, and one I recommend to anyone who enjoys driving. The funniest part was when the introductory peice talked about the AWD philosophy that Audi employs. Well, then, why isn't it standard in all your cars, like Subaru? 
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